The one player that has not featured since arriving during the summer is Danny Drinkwater. He has been getting over a calf injury and has yet to take the field and his arrival has been forgotten a little bit.

He arrives under a little pressure, some have said that he is not what Chelsea needs; while others posit that he is not Chelsea’s quality.

He is, however, English and this is essential as the Blues compete in the Champions League. However, the true value is his skill, experience, and a great partnership with N’golo Kante.

If the coming of Kante to Chelsea midfield last season gave them the trophy, then the arrival of the man that helped him achieve the magical feat in Leicester will hopefully bring even more trophies to Chelsea. So, its hard to see why Danny Drinkwater will not thrive at Stamford Bridge.

Even Emenalo Likes Him

Even the most distrusted man at the club likes him.

Citing why he is a good fit for the team, Micheal Emenalo, the sporting director, posted that he is a premier league winner, as well as an experienced Champions League player. These experiences are actually invaluable.

He is tenacious, he can shoot at long range, and he can provide a consistent back up over a long season.

Will Danny Drinkwater Play At Chelsea

Moving to Chelsea was a risk for Drinkwater, there is always a risk he could do a Steve Sidwell. However, he has achieved more than Sidwell before he moved to the club.

We have four quality midfielders in the squad and with the club in competition on multiple fronts they should get plenty of game time.

Chelsea gave two debuts in the Carabao Cup match against Nottingham Forest, so who is Dujon Sterling who replaced Davide Zappacosta in that game.

Aided by our loan policies that sees more experienced players away from the club we thought we would profile a player that hopefully will bleed blue.

So Who Is Dujon Sterling

Sterling is a proper academy product having joined the Blues in 2007 at the age of 8. He is now a seventeen-year-old that has represented England at various youth levels, winning the u19 European Youth Championship in the summer.

Able to play at right back and right midfield he has also played in every Chelsea youth level team, going on to win the FA Youth Cup, UEFA Youth Cup and u18 Premier League.

Sterling has an eye for goal and scored his most important one yet in the FA Youth Cup final last season against Manchester City.

Chelsea’s academy at Cobham Training Centre is regarded as one of the best in the world after our Youth League and FA Youth Cup titles.

Sterling represents the huge success we have had at youth level in recent years and it is great to see him in the Chelsea senior squad and getting some game time.

What Does The Future Hold?

Whilst it is encouraging to see him in the squad and getting game time, it is unlikely we will see him as a regular anytime soon. He still needs time to develop but it would be great to see glimpses of him in future particularly in the Carabao Cup.

A few short-term loans might be on the cards to get him regular game time but we look forward to seeing him develop and hopefully be amongst the crop of youngsters trying to oust Cahill et al.

Chelsea gave a debut to a seventeen-year-old against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup, so who is Ethan Ampadu and what do Chelsea fans need to know?

Firstly we know that he is very young. It is scary to start seeing players in Blue who were born in this millennium, it makes us feel very old.

Who is Ethan Ampadu?

Apart from looking similar to Nathan Ake and David Luiz, Ampadu is a highly rated midfielder who has come from a League Two academy to the Chelsea first team squad in just over a year.

Ampadu is a product of the club’s talent scouting network, rather than the club’s academy. Having just turned 17, Ampadu joined Chelsea from Exeter this summer for an undisclosed compensation fee from League Two side Exeter.

He made his debut in League Two at just 15 last season featuring 13 times before he was prised away by Chelsea. Ampadu had during that time got the attention of a number of clubs including Manchester United so it is good to see the club won at least some transfer tug-of-wars in pre-season.

Conte described him before the game as

“Ampadu is a young player, but I think he has good quality,” the Italian said. “He has good prospects to become a Chelsea player. He’s strong physically, with good technique and personality.

Personal Life And Facts

Ampadu’s father was a professional footballer who started at Arsenal and played hundreds of football league games for Swansea and Exeter. His background means Ampadu also has a lot of choice internationally. He is eligible internationally for England, Ghana, Ireland and Wales.

Having been called up to the Welsh national side in May though, he could be about to pin his future to the Welsh flag.

Now let’s finish the profile of this defensive midfielder with the all-important who is Ethan Ampadu videos.

Pitch invasions are largely a thing of the past, however on Sunday we got to see a pitch invasion fail from a solo Arsenal fan.

The Arsenal fan committed the ultimate pitch invasion fail as he charged onto the pitch following Shkodran Mustafi’s header into the Chelsea net. However, Mustafi was offside and the goal was rightly ruled out.

It was quite funny given that the joy that sent him charging onto the pitch was short-lived. Cue pictures of him across social media charging onto the pitch in celebration after the rest of the stadium had noticed the assistant referee’s flag.

An Arsenal fan was kicked out of Stamford Bridge for running onto the pitch after Mustafi’s offside goal. pic.twitter.com/pg68KGEA4t

Pitch Invasion Fail & The Law

Large-scale pitch invasions by Premier League teams are largely a thing of the past but from time to time some fans end up on the pitch in moments of celebration. This can potentially be costly for over-excited fans, as technically invading the pitch at an English Football ground is a criminal offense.

The implementation of this law is patchy at best and it seems few get seriously punished.

Fans are often able to back into the stands without the stewards getting involved. Other times they just get kicked out, it seems that only when there is malicious intent are the fans arrested or punished (in general)

A few Chelsea fans invaded the pitch during the Champions League Final in Munich and all made it back into the Chelsea end without incident.

Arsenal Pitch Invasion Fail Fan’s Fate

The fan during the Arsenal v Chelsea game was intercepted by stewards and escorted from the pitch. He was swiftly ejected by security. It is unclear whether he will face any tougher than that.

Despite him being an Arsenal fan we hope not, excitement is natural in football and the humiliation of national coverage of his premature celebrations seems like punishment enough.

Arsenal may have won the FA Cup at the end of last season to restore some pride, but in general the last twenty years have seen Chelsea dominate this London derby.but in the last twenty years Chelsea have dominated this London derby for the most part.

In that time Arsenal have gone from perennial challengers at times invincible to a laughing stock that value fourth place far more than trophies.

In order to build some excitement ahead of the game tomorrow here are videos of three moments where Chelsea have destroyed Arsenal.

The games span the League Cup, Premier League and Champions League and we have even snuck in an extra moment on top of the three promised

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 5 – League Cup

Let’s start with a 5-0 victory at Highbury in 1998 a time when we were on the rise but were not the dominant team in London that we are today.

Before the game Wenger said he had named a strong side, afterwards he tried to claim he had named a weakened team, classic Wenger hypocrisy.

Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0

The 2013/2014 season saw Jose Mourinho back at the Bridge and he made his mark with this stunning six-goal victory. We were two goals up within ten minutes and when Oxlade Chamberlain handled on the goal line Kieran Gibbs was sent off Chelsea scored and ran riot.

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1

Last season and Conte got revenge for defeat early in the season with a comprehensive victory during our march to the title.

This game included the Hazard wondergoal where he beats half the Arsenal side on a mazy run and finishes it off.

Your brucie bonus

Whatever happened between him and Terry Wayne Bridge will always have one moment that Chelsea fans will remember forever. a quick on two and Wayne Bridge wrote his name into Chelsea folklore with a strike that announced Chelsea had arrived on the European stage

In 2004 Wayne Bridge wrote his name into Chelsea folklore with a strike that announced Chelsea had arrived on the European stage

Oh Wayne Bridge, Scored a f*cking great goal, In the Highbury sh*t hole, Two minutes to go..

One of the building selection headaches that Antonio Conte may face iin the coming months is Moses v Zappacosta in a battle to be Chelsea’s first choice right wing back.

To succeed at home and abroad squad depth is important and the signing of Davies Zappacosta gives Conte two solid choices on the right hand side of defence.

The Case For Moses

After a lifetime on loan Victor Moses was plucked from squad periphery to take on a key role at wing back.

It was like we signed a new player and was important in giving Chelsea the edge in the title race.

The incumbent Moses had a great title winning season but as a natural winger he is still not the whole defensive package which may leave the door open.

Zappacosta has both attacking and defensive attributes that could see him become first choice.

Introducing Zappacosta

Davide Zappacosta was signed on deadline day with few Blues fans having him on their radar. Fortunately Conte did having called him into the national team. Zappacosta made his full Chelsea debut against minnows FK Qarabag, but his performance and cameo against Leicester should have Victor Moses worried from the outset.

He has looked solid in attack and defence and an early goal in his career will help him build his reputation amongst the fans.

Moses v Zappacosta

Ignoring his wondergoal/fluke against Qarabag, Zappacosta looks more mobile and controlled than Moses. I think once he has time he could show himself able to outperform Moses in both areas.

With a busy schedule both players will get game time but it will be interest to see what happens in key games once Zappacosta has fully acclimatised to the Premier League.

Either way it looks like we have two competent and popular players and whoever wins the battle this gives the club a good chance of winning the war.

The sign of a good start to your Chelsea career is getting your own chant. The Alvaro Morata song shows the positive impression his goals and performances have had on the Chelsea faithful.

However, it has also highlighted the conflict I have with some of our chants and the continued use of the term Yid. This song has caused controversy and put the Chelsea media team on the back foot.

Not sure what I am on about the song shown below, uses a common tune and the the use of the word is pretty clear.

Why The Controversy?

Yid is an offensive term for a Jew. Therefore it has no place in our football vocabulary and should be easy to police right?

Well….. it’s removal from football has been complicated by the use of the term by Tottenham fans who call themselves the “Yid Army” and chant it at every game home and away.

This should not be an excuse for its use by Chelsea fans, you can only be responsible for your own behaviour. It should not need to be pointed out that using racial slurs is inappropriate at any time, especially in a crowd of people at a televised event shown around the world.

I welcome the club taking action to make this clear.

Denying that Chelsea have not had a problem with anti-Semitism in the past would be naive, but if it persists today it is a tiny minority and not representative of our fans. I do not think that the majority of fans that sing this have racial intent in their words.

We need to ensure the songs we sing reflect this. there are a couple of common Chelsea songs that feature the offending word.

They need to be changed or consigned to history.

We already have some great songs about Tottenham that do not use this word or court controversy, let’s stick to these.

This week sees the current Champions face the former Champions in what will be a good test of how each side has progressed since the start of the season.

However, the best part of the end of the international break is that away days are back and Leicester away is always enjoyable whatever the result.

Leicester Away For Chelsea Fans

Leicester away is one of my favourite Chelsea away games. Easy to get to with away fan friendly chain pubs on route, it is a good day out whatever the results.

The police are friendly and don’t try and impose themselves too much and fans are able to move around the city freely with a minimal amount of fuss.

Although there is a ten-minute walk from the City Centre to the pub, it is not too much of a hardship and includes a walk past of Leicester’s other iconic stadium where the Leicester Tigers Rugby Union team play. When you win its an easy trip back to the city but if we lose it can feel like a bit of a trek.

A Little Bit Of Football

Chelsea have put a freak result against Burnley behind us to recover to six points and back in the hunt. Leicester have had a mixed start to the season with one win and defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal. The latter being a seven goal thriller that Leicester lost due to two late goals.

Victory for Chelsea will provide momentum in an important seven game September across three competitions and keep pace with a top half of the table that already has a familiar feel to it.

The result can be something to ruin an away day and results at Leicester have been mixed. Highlights include when we all but sealed the 2015 title here and you can even see the FamousCFC.com in the BBC image (if you look really closely)

Due to the sale or loan of English squad players, the Chelsea homegrown players 2017/2018 Champions League list features less well-known players than it would have done last season.

The Blues have lost Nathan Ake, Ruben Loftus Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah all would have been likely to feature if they had stayed at the club. Then there are the likes of Tammy Abraham who is out on loan for the second season in a row who we really wish was available given our lack of options up front.

What Is The Homegrown Players Rule?

UEFA homegrown player rules mean that Antonio Conte has to name 8 homegrown players within his 25 man squad.

Homegrown Player Definition – UEFA defines locally-trained or ‘homegrown’ players as those who, regardless of their nationality, have been trained by their club or by another club in the same national association for at least three years between the age of 15 and 21.Four of the locally-trained players must be from the club itself, with the others being either from the club itself or from other clubs in the same association.

A quirk of this is that Spainaird Cesc Fabregas is considered Association homegrown a significant bonus for Conte. He is joined on that list be new signing Danny Drinkwater who will be taking part in his second Champions League campaign.

Chelsea Homegrown Players 2017-2018 Champions League

B Squad (qualified at Chelsea)

Kyle Scott (Midfield)

Andreas Christensen (Defence)

Charly Musonda (Midfield)

Jake Clarke Salter

Association Homegrown

Danny Drinkwater

Gary Cahill

Victor Moses

Cesc Fabregas

Although these players are in the squad Conte has full autonomy in who he picks for each game from the list of 25.

Here are some videos that may help introduce you to our B list players and show you what they might bring to the table in the Champions League